With great difficulty, he squeezed his way through the crowd to the front and saw that the person on the high dais was Tang Youyou, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.
She was dressed in a short aqua - blue jacket and a long sky - blue and slightly faded skirt. Her black hair was half - coiled up, making her look more mature than before. Her eyes and eyebrows showed a firm determination, lacking the impulsiveness she had in the palace.
Tang Youyou put all the signed papers into the bamboo tubes on the table. There were two bamboo tubes, and the difference in the number of papers was obvious. She picked up the one belonging to her and walked up to the two elders.
"Now that the result is clear, do you two elders have anything else to say?"
The two elders in front of her looked solemn. Staring at the crowd below, they waved their hands grandly, stood up, and stepped down from the dais.
"Since everyone is strongly urging, we'll keep the position of the Saintess. However, from now on, the Saintess must also obey the orders of the elders and is not allowed to leave the clan without permission!"
Hearing this, Su Bai was so angry that she clenched her fists tightly, as if she was about to rush forward and punch the two elders in the head the next moment. Su Ran beside her patted her hand, signaling her not to be impatient.
"That's good." Tang Youyou went along with their words and then took out a ledger from her sleeve. It was densely filled with words.
"As the Saintess of the Blood Clan, I naturally have to think about the clan members. In the past few days, I've noticed that although the clan members can have enough to eat and wear, their living standards are not as good as those of the common people in some towns outside.
"Our Blood Clan is rich in rare flowers and plants. Just selling one of them can earn a lot of money. But I don't know why everyone is living so frugally?"
As soon as she said this, the crowd below began to whisper. The two elders and other powerful figures in the clan all looked ashen.
"I've also investigated this matter in my spare time and found that some high - ranking people in the clan have embezzled all the money that originally belonged to the clan members. Pass this ledger around and see who exactly has been embezzling the money."
After saying that, Tang Youyou handed the densely - written ledger to the clan members on the spot. Everyone rushed forward to take a look and pointed at the people on the stage in disbelief.
"Over the years, we've been working hard to cultivate those flowers and plants, treating them more preciously than our own sons. Who would have thought that all the money we earned was stolen and robbed by you!"
The people standing in the front accused the embezzlers with tears in their eyes. Everyone flipped through the ledger back and forth until it was almost falling apart by the end.
Seeing this situation, the people on the stage showed panicked expressions and ordered their subordinates to take the ledger back. But how could the crowd let them succeed? They protected it desperately and were even willing to draw their swords.
"This money should have been earned by everyone's hard work, but it was embezzled by these people. They not only have no shame to be the elders of our Blood Clan, but also have no face to stay in the clan anymore. Get out of the Blood Clan!"
"Get out of the Blood Clan!"
Suddenly, the voices roared. Even Su Bai and Su Ran couldn't stop the crowd's offensive. Seeing them approaching the main hall step by step, they didn't know what to do.
Tang Youyou signaled them not to stop the crowd. She wanted them to vent their dissatisfaction so that these so - called elders could be completely removed from power. Of course, she didn't want any casualties.
"Everyone, calm down!" When the commotion seemed to reach its peak, Tang Youyou raised her voice and shouted at the crowd. "As the Saintess of the clan, I hereby order that from now on, the position of elder will be abolished. The people in charge of the clan will be elected by everyone, and the one with the most votes will win. How about that?"
Hearing the Saintess's words, they calmed down a bit. An old man stepped forward first.
"This is a good idea. The Saintess really came to help us. From now on, we'll all listen to the Saintess."
Facing this situation, the unpopular elders had no choice but to bow their heads and admit their mistakes. Tang Youyou didn't expose the matter of their hiding money in the bank. The amount was too large, and it needed to be properly handled.
Immediately, they expelled all these elders from the clan. Those who were less involved in the embezzlement were directly dismissed from their positions and became ordinary clan members. From then on, a rule was established that if anyone was found embezzling, they would never be allowed to enter the clan again.
After that, the clan members recommended Su Ran to be the new person in charge. Over the years, Su Ran had been busy helping the clan members. When people had difficulties, they preferred to turn to Su Ran rather than those elders. Moreover, some of the elders had watched Su Ran grow up, so there was no doubt about their trust in him.
"How can this be? I've only helped with some small things. How can I take on such a great responsibility?"
Seeing Su Ran's hesitation, Tang Youyou patted his shoulder. "Your ability is obvious to all. And this time we were able to successfully bring down those embezzlers, thanks to your previous investigation. You've made the greatest contribution in this matter."
"And Su Bai, if you two siblings can work together, I believe the Blood Clan will surely get better and better."
Su Bai was a straightforward person. She slapped Su Ran on the back. "Brother, don't decline anymore. Over the years, you've dedicated yourself to the clan. You have the right and the ability to be the person in charge. Besides, I'll be here with you."
Seeing that both Tang Youyou and Su Bai trusted him so much, Su Ran couldn't decline anymore. He could only accept the appointment and swore in front of everyone.
After all the hard work in the past few days, Tang Youyou collapsed on the bedside. She only felt extremely tired. She used to have an indestructible body. How could she become so vulnerable now?
Tang Youyou thought it was because her resistance had declined, coupled with the fact that there had been too many things to deal with recently and her diet was irregular. That was why she felt physically and mentally exhausted.
It seemed that she really needed to take a good rest.
Since Su Ran and Su Bai took over all the affairs of the clan, Tang Youyou had nothing to do all day long. She just followed the clan members to plant some flowers and plants.
The Blood Clan was really strange. Even in the coldest winter month, the flowers and plants planted outdoors were not affected at all. Instead, they grew even more vigorously.
"Send these to my room later."
She even specially set aside a flower field for herself, planting all kinds of flowers and plants she had never seen before. When she was free, she would stay in her room all day, researching how to turn these flowers and plants into pills.
In just a few days, her room was filled with bottles of all sizes. Her test - tubes were everywhere, on the wooden shelves, on the window sills, and on the ground. When Su Bai saw them, she pulled Tang Youyou and asked her to introduce each one.
"This white one is the Meditation Pill. After taking it, a person will enter a half - asleep and half - awake state, confusing dreams with reality. They may take what they see in the dream as real and the reality as false. If they take it for a long time, they may even go crazy."
Su Bai stared at her with wide eyes. "This is so amazing. How did you make it?"
Tang Youyou gave her a mysterious smile. "It's a secret."
All the formulas of the pills, poisons, and antidotes she invented were stored in her mind and were never known to outsiders.